Continuation of: The Consequences of the Mob


One-ish hour later....

Smoke slowly curled upward from the lit cigarette that was stuck between his lips as Jack stared up at the clouds lazily drifting by. He had made himself comfortable lying on the hood of his old Challenger, his back leaning against the windshield while he waited in front of the Toretto house. Somehow it seemed his brother had found out what was really going. Brian had called him about an hour ago, making it crystal clear they needed to talk. Jack, however, seriously doubted it would remain to just talk, seeing as how their arguments notoriously descended into fighting on a regular basis. It had always been like that, even when they'd been kids. Oh yes, good times...

Jack was pulled out of his meandering thoughts when he heard the engine of a Subaru approaching then shutting off, doors opening and closing. Big bro's here. The joy. Pushing himself off the hood, he took one last long-ass drag from his cigarette before he flicked it away and put on his best 'I don't give a fuck' cocky smile when his eyes landed on a furious looking Brian... and the Torettos.

"Hey, bro! You know, there really is no need to threaten me if you want me to come by. There's no shame in missing your little brother."

Mia stepped out of the house following Brian and Dom. Brian was pissed, and Jack looked careless. She never liked Jack, always getting himself in trouble and of course Brian being the little brother worried a lot about him, she was the same with Dom, only difference she would never loose something very valuable, not when the mob was involved, you never play around with those guys.

She stood there with her arms folded, she wished Dom wasn´t the one in charge to kill him because she´d love to do that, the worst part was that if Stephano found out he didn´t kill Jack then her brother would be next. She scoffed and shook her head when Jack started talking.

The whole way to the Fort Brian was deep in thoughts about the whys and hows of Jacks involvement with the mob. At first he was worried and scared for his little brother but the closer they got to meeting him another feeling took over: Anger. Brian had always tried to live a good straight live, protect the ones he loved and be a good citizen...unless it came to racing, of course. He always tried to do the right thing when Jack couldn't care less about right and wrong. All his brother cared about was himself and his personal gain, which in this case lead to his possible termination. Brian had lost pretty much all his respect for Jack so when the car came to a halt and he saw the careless smoking brother standing outside he told Dom. "I might just finish him off for you."

Then he got out his fists already balled and closed the distance with a fast stride.
The smart remark was too be expected but only fuelled Brian's fire.
"I didn't miss you!" He stated when he hauled off and slammed his fist into his brothers face.
This time it wouldn't be a friendly fight. They never made any change. This time Jack needed to learn a lesson.
Without further warning he punched his brother left and right with a combination of hooks, upper cuts and finally a knee to the stomach. With every punch his anger seemed to grow instead of getting less because he was well aware that his punches were only a soft petting compared to what the mob would soon do to his only brother. The lack of remorse and conscience on Jacks side had pissed Brian off just a little too long so now he needed to vent. And boy did he ever. The punches were so hard that his own knuckles got bloody and hurt but he didn't stop.

She stood there next to Dom, and saw how Brian´s anger rise and risa each step he took towards Jack, and boy was she right about that..

There was no hug or pad in the back, Brian just close the distance between him and his brother and he started to get out all of his anger in each punch Jack received. "Brian, stop!" she yelled at him. Yes, she didn´t like Jack at all but it seemed Brian wasn´t stopping, a bullet to the head was less painful than all the punches Brian was throwing. "Make him stop," she turned to Dom, the blood was visible to her as it started to smudge and spread all over Brian´s knuckles.

Dom checked behind them quite regularly on the way to his house to make sure no one was trailing. The mob had a knack for monitoring you, and he really didn't need that right now. They needed a plan, fast.
Various ideas for a plan ran through his head as they approached the house, yet none seemed feasible. But he believed in the notion that if you worked at it hard enough, there was a solution, this would be no different.
Brian however, seemed intent on pounding a message into Jack's brain instead of rational thinking. Immediately his expression grew a frown as he watched the confrontation, he didn't need Mia to even mention the fight to him, he was well on his way. "That's enough, O'Conner!" He yanked Brian away from his own brother. "Beating the shit outta each other ain't gonna solve anything." He gave a stern eye to both of them, particularly Brian.

She walked slowly and stop next to Brian taking a quick second to examine him and also Jack from a distance. Brian´s chest rise rapidly with every breath he took, the anger still inside him. She took one of Brian´s hand to see the damage that he caused closer, the blood was pouring not to fast. "Hmm.. it´s not that bad," she muttered.

She then turn to Jack. "Get in the house, and you two better behave." She walked to the door of her house taking the keys out and openning the door getting in, going to the bathroom to take some alcohol and bandages.

Jack shot his brother a furious look while he wiped at the blood on his chin. His breath was labored, his ribs hurting with every inhale and exhale. Fucking hell, Brian had worked him over good. And for what?! For shit that wasn't even his goddamn business to begin with. Still, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that he'd barely been able to get a few hits in before Dom had pulled his lunatic of a brother off of him.

"You go to hell, Brian," he growled, spitting out some blood. Without paying much attention to Mia's command to go inside the house, Jack pulled open his car door instead and got in, starting the engine. The Challenger soon peeled back out onto the street, it's tires screaming angrily. Once upon a time he'd looked up to his big brother, and Brian might have been able to smack some sense into him way back when, but now, those days were long since over. He did what he did, and if that would eventually get him killed, well... at least he'd leave behind a pretty corpse, no?

...Unless they fucked him up beyond recognition first, of course...

Brian fully expected Dom to step in sooner or later unless he was waiting for Brian to finish the job that had been assigned to Dom. Killing wasn't in the bald mans nature so it didn't come as a surprise that he yanked Brian away from his bleeding brother and told both of them to back off.

Seeing that jack had enough Brian stepped back still breathing like a steam train while his eyes lingered on Jack. A strange feeling of remorse washed over Brian but it wasn't for the beating. It was more a matter of 'I should have done more when we were younger'. Now it was too late.

Mia's attention was the last thing he wanted so he averted his gaze and pulled his hand away from her. There was no need for her to fuzz over either of them. Of course she wanted to help his battered brother but the guy didn't deserve or want her attention.

Instead he cursed at Brian and staggered away to his car instead of listening to what they had to say. No wonder after what Brian had just done. His gutts dropped when he suddenly realized that beating him might have been the completely wrong approach even though he just needed to get it out. As he watched Jack close the door and heard the engine come to live he looked at his brothers beaten, red profile and it hit him. This might be the last time he'd see him alive.
Jack's car back out of the drive way leaving a baffled crowd behind.
Shaking slightly Brian muttered to Dom. "You'd better stop him now. " If anybody could talk some sense into the younger O'Conner it was Dom because the brothers were beyond talking.

With hanging shoulders he stepped back and watch Dom go after him.

She wasn´t suprised when Jack left, Brian made a huge mistake and lost it completely. She stood on the door frame with her arms crossed watching Dom go after Jack and shook her head at the events that just happened seconds ago. She didn´t say a word to Brian, he didn´t want to be help, the situation was so out of control. She then sat down on the wooden steps watching closely what Brian would do. Would he go after them? What would he do? His anger seemed to dissapear little by litte as his actions sink in.

Dom had his back turned on Jack for only a second, but that's all it took for him to be his car and gone. "Damnit Brian." He cursed and ran over to his own mopar muscle car and burnt the tires out of the driveway after the younger O'Conner. Reality was that Jack was probably going to be in no mood to talk to him either, but that didn't really matter right now, he had to know what was going down, fast.
Barely having a glimpse of the Challenger at first, Dom kept pursuit as his Hemi was a little bit quicker than Jack's Hemi, and within a few blocks the two cars were within a few yards. Jack wasn't stopping, not a surprise. No matter though, Dom was going to make him stop. He shifted into 4th gear and allowed the torque of his Charger to overtake the other Dodge, in doing so Dom ripped the handbrake and slide the car 90 degrees in front of Jack. As Dom's car being a Charger, the length of it pretty much blocked the road.
He hustled out of the car before Jack could get any reverse ideas and made his way to the window. "We need to talk." His voice boomed towards the driver's side.

There was no point for her to stick around Brian anymore, she stood up and wished she had the right words for him, but to be honest she didn´t know how to say it, or if she should say them at all. She stopped next to Brian, "If you need anything, the back door is open," she said turning to see him.

"I´m sure Dom will be able to talk some sense into that head of his. Let us handle it... go home to your family, the last thing you want to do is keep stepping into more danger," she looked down at the keys in her hand.

it was obvious that Mia was very uncomfortable with the situation, especially since she didn't really like Brian's company in the first place. Yet she was kind enough to offerhim to use her home and reassure him that Dom would take care of things....a thought crossed Brian's mind: What if Dom had a change of heart and would finish what Brian had started. His heart ached at the thought but he remained where he was and nodded to Mia. "Thank you."
His expression however was a grim as his feelings towards his good for nothing brother.

When Mia was gone he walked over to the front steps of the house and sat down. It took a while until he let his shoulder hang and relaxed a bit because there was nothing else he could do. The only thing would be to sit and wait for Dom or Jack to return and ask what happened.

"We´ll figure it out," she offered him a quick smile, squeezing one of his hands, she let go and walked to his brother Charger already knowing where she was going. She didn´t look back, and knew Brian would make the right decision. Once inside the Charger she drove to the beach, a place she loved, a place she had lots of good memories and the only place that could relaxed her.

The Challenger came to a slipping halt when Dom's Charger suddenly slid out in front of him, turning 90 degrees to block the length of the road. Jack had half a mind to throw his car in reverse and back up, but the burly man was somehow faster than he was, already moving towards his driver's side while demanding they needed to talk.

"Talk about what? The weather? The birds and the bees? Get your car out of my way, Dom. This is none of your concern," he answered calmly through the rolled down window, once again using the back of his hand to wipe at the blood that trickled from his nose down to his upper lip. He hadn't bothered to check yet whether or not Brian had actually broken his nose this time, but if the pain was any indication, the fucking lunatic probably had.

Talk about 'tough love', huh?

Dom was less than impressed with the younger O'Conner's response. He really didn't know just how serious this was, but then again, if he managed to get himself this far down the gutter in the mob's business, let alone take Dieseli's shipment and get lost with it, then he was already plenty ignorant of the situation.

He made a pronounced frown and in a swift moment threw his left hand in the car and tightly grabbed Jack's collar, sticking his head in so their faces were inches apart. "This is fuckin' serious!" He practically yelled, looking over his shoulder quickly to be sure they weren't being watched. "Dieseli wants you dead. You got about a day to get as far away from here as this shitbox will take you." He further shook Jack's collar. "This ain't a fuckin' joke, quit acting like it ain't gonna happen." Dom decided to leave out who was actually supposed to be the trigger man...for now.

Any sarcastic, smart-ass comments that he was well known for throwing casually around would surely not do him any favors right now, so Jack did the only thing he could do when his collar was grabbed and kept his mouth shut. He knew damn well Dom was barking nothing short of the truth in his face and that the situation he currently found himself in was anything but a fucking joke. After all, he'd already been threatened by one of Dieseli's goons, who'd given him the deadline (pun intended) of three days to come up with the lost goods, or else...

Ha! he was pretty sure there'd still be a bullet with his name on it the moment he returned Dieseli his goods, so in the end, it would seem he was fucked either way, no?

"Why do you even care, Dom, huh? I'm not your responsibility. I'm not Jesse!" The moment those words left his mouth, Jack regretted them, but it was too late to take them back now. He had never known Jesse personally, only heard the story of his death from his brother, but he couldn't help but wonder what Dom's motivation was for coming after him to try and talk some sense into him. It couldn't be just because of Brian, unless he had underestimated their barely existent friendship.

Jack's initial silence was evidence to Dom that maybe his words had their intended effect on him. Dom hardly expected this to be easy, getting Jack to fess up to his fuck up and start talking reason. He wasn't sure Jack realized that it wasn't him against the world, people still cared for him, even Brian. Why did Dom care? Besides his obvious direct involvement, he wasn't about to let Brian's young brother destroy himself with stupid mistake after stupid mistake. Jack had a certain intelligence to him that Dom could pick up despite being around him only limited amounts of time. In some ways, he even reminded Dom of Jesse. Smart, but stupid.

So when Jesse was mentioned, it took Dom by surprise. The emotions from that day came back to him, the anger, the pain. It took a level of self control to not lay a fist into Jack's face for even bringing it up. He let Jack's collar loose and made eye contact with the younger O'Conner. "This isn't all about yourself Jack. You're not some lone ranger cowboy on his own. People care about you, don't break the hearts of your family for something as stupid as this." He pulled his head out of the window, not sure if there was anything more productive to say, their only option out of this mess was a plan that went behind the scenes. "Now get lost." Dom turned back to his charger and drove off.